Bangladesh elect to field first

Bangladesh won the toss and put Sri Lanka to bat first in the third match of the Nidahas Trophy cricket tournament here at the R Premadasa Stadium. Both teams are unchanged for today's match.

Teams:

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal(w/c), Upul Tharanga, Dasun Shanaka, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah(c), Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Nazmul Islam

Mahmudullah: "Looking to bowl first. Wicket looks good, quite a bit of grass. So we'll look to knock them over. We are using two spinners and we need to make use of the conditions. We did good things in patches against India, but not as great. We need to make everything work together. Going in with the same team."

Dinesh Chandimal: "Guys executed their plans very well against India. We were looking to bat first anyway, so looking to put up a big total and put them under pressure. We had something up our sleeve before the game started. The players executed well and the credit has to go to the players to do extremely well out there and turn things around. We're going in with an unchanged XI."

Sri Lanka look to extend their domination against Bangladesh

Sri Lanka will aim to continue their recent domination against a beleaguered Bangladesh when the two teams meet in the Nidahas Twenty20 Trophy on Saturday.

Sri Lanka will be high on confidence going into their second game after they surprised India in the tournament opener.

Their recent record against Bangladesh is impressive, having beaten them in the away Test and T20 series besides the final of the tri-series, which also included Zimbabwe.

The way Sri Lanka played against India was even more impressive, comfortably chasing a stiff 175-run target courtesy a Kusal Perera special.

On the bowling front, pacer Dushmantha Chameera stood out while the Indians struggled to read the wrong-un of leggie Jeevan Mendis.

The openers, Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka, began well but failed to make a substantial contribution, something they will look to change tomorrow.

After the India win, captain Dinesh Chandimal said the players are feeling good about their game and also gave credit to coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who was earlier with Bangladesh.

"This is all about transferring confidence from the Bangladesh series. The management has done a wonderful job at training sessions. Chandika Hathurusingha has been amazing. This result shows how good we are as a team," Chandimal had said.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, are under the pump after a string of losses. The batsmen have not been able to rotate the strike enough in the middle overs, stopping them from putting up competitive scores.

The absence of star player and captain Shakib Al Hasan is bound to hurt them.

"We should have scored a lot more runs, probably 30 more runs. They (India) executed their plans very well but we should have found ways to make more runs. We need to rotate the strike more often. The dot balls created a lot of pressure.

"I think we are just one win away from getting a boost. We're still searching for it and I think we'll get it," said captain Mahmudullah after the six-wicket loss to India yesterday.

India chased down 140 easily with Bangladesh spinners not posing any threat to India by bowling flat more often than not. They will have to come up with a fresh strategy against the Lankans.

The pacers bowled alright and Rubel Hossain stood out with two wickets. It is also a must-win game for Bangladesh as another loss will make it very difficult for them to make the final on March 18.

Teams(from):

Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (captain), Suranga Lakmal, Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Isuru Udana, Akila Dananjaya, Amila Aponso, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Dhananjaya De Silva.

Bangladesh: Mahmudullah (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Hider, Abu Jayed, Ariful Haque, Nazmul Islam, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan, Liton Das.